Support for bleed-rods.



E. P. QUIRK. SUPPORT FOR BLEED RODS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1914.

1,152,547.. Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

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Application fil ed March 9-, 1914. seen to. any);

To all whom it may concern-1 Be it known that I, EDWARD P. Q'UIRK, ofSyracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Supports for Bleed-Rods, ofwhich the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in supports for bleedrods for operating the air-valves of air cylinders of train pipes. V p

It is well known among those familiar with the art that in freighttrains particularly each car is provided with an air cylinder or drumand a bleed rod for operating the valve controlling the cylinder andthat under present methods, the brakeman or other employee must go toeach of the cars, pull or push the bleed rod to operate the air-valveand hold the rod in that position until the air is released, consumingin many cases two or three minutes for each car.

The object of my invention, therefore, is to provide means of supportfor the bleed rod and at the same time so construct and dispose aportion of said support that it will grasp and hold the bleed rod in itsair releasing position so that the brakeman may simply push or pull therod to valve-operating position and then force it laterally intoengagement with a portion of the support by means of which it will beheld in that position without further necessity of the presence of theoperator. 7

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a sectional view of a broken away portion ofa car showing the air cylinder, and the bleedrod supported in accordancewith this invention. Fig. 2 is aside view, partially in section, of thebleed-rod support. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same.

The invention comprises a bleed-rod-supporting device, preferably formedof a single strip of material, having an intermediate curved portion -1-forming a return bend and parallel extending end portions -2 and 3.

The device is adapted to be attached to the bottom of a railroad car 4and for this purpose is provided with a laterally enlarged portion -5-having'openings for the reception of screws -6 forming the attachingmeans. 1

The end portion 2 has a bolt -7 rigidly secured thereto and the endportion -3= has an opening through which this bolt passes, andpreferably this belt is pro This device, as before stated, is to besecured to the bottom of a railroad car and is adapted to receive thebleed rod 9, which rod has suitable connections with the valve of an airdrum or cylinder 10 so that a pull or push upon the rod operates thevalve, to release the air, in the usual well known manner. Normally, therod -9 is positioned in the enlarged portion -1 of the support but whenit is necessary to release the air from the cylinder, theoperator maypush or pull the rod to open the air-valve and may then force the rodlaterally between the end portions 2 and 3, spreading them against theirown natural tension, tending to cause them to remain in substantiallyparallel relation, a predetermined distance apart, said distance lessthan the diameter of the bleed rod 9-. The rod -9 is firmly graspedbetween these end portions and held in valve-releasing position Withoutfurther necessity of the presence of the operator and preferably inorder to increase the friction and, therefore, the tendency to hold therod in this position, the inner faces of the end portions -2 and 3 areprovided with V-shaped kerfs or cuts -11, pointing in either directionand of any desired size and depth.

It will now be apparent that, although 1 have described the preferableform of my invention, changes may be made in the details of constructionand shape Without departing from the spirit of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a strip of sheet metalreturn-bent to form an eyefor the reception of a bleed rod and in whicheye the bleed rod is free to move longitudinally, said strip of sheetmetal having its end portions normally spaced apart a distance less thanthe diameter of the bleed rod fatentedSepti 7, 1915..

and adapted to be spread apart against the resilient action of the metalstrip by lateral movement of said rod and-to grip the rod in eye for thereception of a bleed rod and in Which eye the bleed rod is free to movelongitudinally, said strip of sheel metal hav ing its end portionsnormally spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of the bleed rodand adapted to be spread apart against- "the resilient action of themetal strip by lateral movement of said rod and to grip the rod in thisposition to prevent longitudinal movement of the same, and means forpreventing separation of said end portions beyond a predetermined point.e

3. In a device of the class described, a

sheet metal strip return-bent to form an eye for the reception of ableed rod, said strip having its endportions normally spaced apart adistance less than the diameterof said rod and adapted to be spreadEDWARD P. QUIRK.

W'itnesses:

E. A. THOMPSON, EVA E. GREENLEAF.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

